


His Own Medicine

by coolbreezemage



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ambiguous Gender My Unit | Byleth, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 00:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20416766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbreezemage/pseuds/coolbreezemage
Summary: Claude manages to poison himself in his research. His Professor makes sure he's cared for.





	His Own Medicine

By mid-afternoon, the retching coming from her House leader's room had grown alarming enough for Marianne to seek their Professor's help. 

"I'm worried," she said again. Unnecessarily, for anxiety was evident in every thread of her being, from the slight disarray of her crown of sky-blue braids to the worn spots where she’d rubbed the hem of her dress threadbare. "I tried to talk to him but I don't think he heard me." She twisted her hands together. "Maybe my bad luck wore off on him." She glanced up from the floor. "Or he might be drunk?" She met the Professor's eyes and hastily looked down again. 

"Perhaps." Byleth had rather a better idea of what was afflicting him, but it wasn't something Marianne needed to know. "I'll check on him."

"Thank you, Professor! Oh, I hope it isn't anything bad..." 

Byleth stood, leaving the pile of yet-to-review essays for later. "Thank you for coming to me."

Marianne took the dismissal gratefully and fled the classroom. Someday, Goddess willing, she might be confident enough to speak to her peers and teachers without such strain. Until then, Byleth would be gentle with her. 

Her House leader, on the other hand, required a different approach. 

***

Byleth paused at the door to listen and heard frustrated muttering, broken here and there by pained groans. 

"Claude. What did you do?"

It must have startled him; a stack of books crashed to the ground somewhere inside. "Hey, Teach! Caught me at a bad time, bit of an, uh, research mishap." Despite the attempt at cheeriness, the voice from the other side of the door was heavy with exhaustion and more than a little bit chagrined. 

"You poisoned yourself." 

"Will you believe me if I tell you it wasn't on purpose?"

"Somehow, that doesn't make it any better." Using himself as a test subject would have at least shown a dedication to ethics, if not to common sense. Pure carelessness, on the other hand, was not a good look. "Though I am glad you're not going around poisoning your classmates."

"Hey, you think I'd do that?" Was that a hint of hurt behind the bravado? There wasn't time to think on it before Claude groaned again. “I have to tell you, I think I did a very good job on this one…”

Byleth thought of leaving him to it. He certainly deserved it. At the very least it might teach him a lesson. But he was clearly miserable with pain, and there was always the risk of adverse effects. More adverse than he was already suffering, that was. Who knew what else was in that book he was so fond of?

"I'll fetch Manuela."

"Please don't!" Claude protested.

It would be pointless to ask why. Byleth sighed. "Then you will tell me exactly what substances you've been working with." It wasn't a request. 

A few moments of silence. At last Claude seemed to decide that the prospect of relief was worth giving up his secrets. That alone spoke to how much he must be hurting. Or how much he trusted his Professor. "You got me. I'll write it down. It's... a fairly complicated formula." The scratching of a pen, a note pushed under the door. "Here. That's not all of it, but it's the major components. Just... don't tell her what I was doing, okay? I'd never hear the end of it."

***

"He says he came down with symptoms shortly after working with these plants in the greenhouse." Lying to keep a student out of trouble. Distasteful. Though Claude's current state was probably punishment enough for any transgressions. 

Manuela studied the list. "Mmm. So I see. Not a good combination. This leaf in particular tends to cause the most agonizing cramps..." She sighed and shook her head. "Poor boy. But he wouldn't be the first student I've had to tend to for something like this. Brave young idiots, not even bothering to wash their hands after handling dangerous plants! Serves them right for such carelessness, I say. Though I'm surprised he got enough of a dose from just that... Hm, well, it is what it is.”

"Can you help him?"

Manuela laughed. "Oh, of course I can, dear! What else am I here for? Well, except to charm the hearts of knights.”

The thought must have put a spring in her step, for she danced around the infirmary collecting ingredients and humming an old romance aria to herself. Or at least Byleth assumed it was a romance aria. Opera was not high on the list of things a mercenary's child learned in life. 

Manuela mixed her myriad of ingredients until she had a small jar of a dark substance. She twisted on a lid, shook it to check the seal, and then wrapped it in paper. 

“Done!” she announced, pressing it into Byleth's hand. “Make sure he takes all of it, or at least as much as he can get down. Should work pretty quickly, though I wouldn't recommend any strenuous activity for the rest of the day. Poor thing probably won't want to do much more than sleep, in any case.”

“I understand. Thank you.” 

From the way Manuela was studying Byleth, the conversation wasn't quite over yet. “You know, it's quite admirable, the way you look after your students. Romantic, I'd say.”

“I'm sure you or Hanneman would do the same,” Byleth demurred. 

“Of course, of course, but it's still admirable.” She settled herself on a chair. "I'll have to talk to the greenhouse keeper about their pruning procedures. Careless students or not, I don't want this happening again.”

"That won't be necessary," Byleth replied hurriedly. "I'll speak to her myself."

"Oh, you will? That's very good of you. Saves me the effort.” She smiled. “Go back to your patient, Professor. Do tell me how it goes, will you? And remember, you're welcome here anytime.”

***

The package was too large to slide under the door, so Byleth opened it, revealing Claude looking noticeably paler than usual. His face was drawn with fatigue, and even his hair seemed subdued, though his eyes still glimmered with what might have been gratitude or might have been curiosity.

Byleth handed over the jar. "Here. Think you can keep it down?"

A snort. "I'll try my best." Claude winced. "I'm going to have so much work to catch up on..."

"You will,” Byleth agreed, unsympathetic. And then added, “You're excused from stable duty today."

A small sigh met the words. "Thank you. I mean it. I'm... sorry to put you to the trouble."

"Get some rest. And maybe put off the experimenting for a while."

That, finally, got a smile. A devious one. "You wish. I've got data points, I can't stop now!"

_ Such a troublemaker! _ Sothis whispered in Byleth's ear. _ Going forward with his schemes even when they harm his own self. _ She fixed her inhuman eyes on the backs of Byleth's own. _ Reminds me of someone we know, wouldn't you say? _

_ Perhaps, _Byleth replied, and closed the door. 


End file.
